Women's Hoops Challenges Northeast-10 Rival Southern New Hampshire

NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. – Looking to snap a three game losing streak, the Merrimack College women's basketball team travels to Manchester, N.H. to face Southern New Hampshire in a Northeast-10 Conference showdown at SNHU Fieldhouse.

Merrimack managed to cut the lead to one (14-13) with 8:31 to play, after a made basket from junior Cassi Amenta (Lynn, Mass.). After back-to-back freebies from junior Amenta, Merrimack took its first lead of the afternoon, 19-16, with five minutes left to play. As the clock hit the two minute mark, Assumption tied the Warriors at 26-all and ended the half leading the Warriors 29-28.

After a made three from Ashley Weissmann (Highland, Calif.) to start the second half, the Warriors took a two point (31-29) lead over the Greyhounds. Not so long after, the Greyhounds took a 38-33 lead with 14:38 to go in the second.

Johnson drained a free throw to bring Merrimack to within seven (44-37) with 11:42 left in the second half. The Greyhounds extended their lead to 10 (49-39) with 10:19 on the clock, after a made layup from Kelly Conley.

With 7:30 left to play, senior Shelby Secor(Antioch, Calif.) brought the Warriors to within seven points (53-46) after back-to-back free throws. Merrimack battled back to bring the score to 63-60, after three Warriors hit three straight threes with 4:25 to go.

As the clock slowly winded down, Merrimack continued to chip away at the Greyhounds lead, but unfortunately the Warriors were unable to stop Assumption.

Last Season Against SNHU:

Game 1:

Merrimack defeated SNHU, 61-58

The Warriors were led by Weissmann who finished with a career-high 16 points off the bench in the victory.

Merrimack was held to 34.4 percent from the floor but they shot 42.1 percent from behind the arc. The Penmen shot 45.3 percent from the floor but were unsuccessful on their five three point attempts.

The key for the Warriors defensively was causing turnovers from the Penmen as they forced 21 turnovers, second straight game forcing 20 plus turnovers.

The Penmen were led by leading scorer Sloane Sorrell who finished with a game-high 20 points, 12 rebounds, two blocks and two steals.

Game 2:

Merrimack defeated SNHU, 65-62.

Clutch free throws from Rothman with 14 seconds to play in the game gave the Warriors their 14th win of the season.

For the game, Merrimack shot 45 percent from the floor while their opponents shot over 50 percent.

The turnover battle was won by the Penmen as they forced 22 Merrimack turnovers while the Warriors defense forced 21 turnovers of their own.

The Penmen had four players score in double figures including Sloane Sorrell who finished with 10 points and 11 rebounds.

The Warriors:

The Warriors have lost their last three games against Cal Poly Pomona, No. 1 Bentley University, and Assumption.

The Navy and Gold has a .375 overall winning percentage while a .200 winning percentage in the conference.

On the road, Merrimack shoots 44.9 percent (144-of-321) from the floor and 39.2 percent (38-of-97) from long range.

Rothman leads the team averaging 13.1 points per game, while Secor averages 10.6 points per game.

The Penmen:

The Penmen are coming off a 69-62 loss to Assumption College on Tuesday.

Guard Amra Elezovic ranks fifth in the league averaging 16.6 points per game, while shooting 70.8 percent from the free throw line.

The Penmen are ranked second in the conference averaging 28.4 defensive rebounds per game.